A 14-year-old girl in Poinciana heard someone trying to pry open her bedroom window around 11 p.m., and instead of staying quiet, she started cursing at whoever was on the other side of the glass. The suspect bolted. Her mother immediately called deputies, setting off a search that ended with a 17-year-old found nearby carrying a backpack with a stolen handgun inside.
Girl's Angry Reaction Sends Suspect Running
According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, the girl described the suspect as a heavy-set male wearing a blue hoodie and blue jeans. Deputies canvassing the area found a suspect matching that description a few streets away. That suspect then ran into a wooded property posted with a Sheriff's Office no-trespassing sign, the agency said.
The teen was identified as 17-year-old Kal, of Lakeland. He was carrying a backpack, and inside it deputies found a 9mm handgun that had been reported stolen in a Highland City car burglary, per the sheriff's post dated November 14, 2026. Kal told deputies he had come to Poinciana to take care of a few things, but he denied attempting to break into the residence, the agency said.
Admission Tied to a Wider Burglary Investigation
Kal admitted to the Highland City burglary and theft, according to the sheriff's office, and investigators say he had a 14-year-old accomplice during that incident. The younger teen was also arrested in connection with the Highland City case. Both were charged with armed burglary of conveyance and grand theft of a firearm, the agency said.
The Highland City case is part of a broader pattern deputies have been tracking. The sheriff's post notes that detectives from the Polk County Sheriff's Office are investigating a series of car burglaries and thefts spanning multiple jurisdictions, with investigators believing the suspects' vehicle to be a gray 2019 Nissan Sentra. Security video reviewed by investigators showed at least four suspects, though others may have been involved, traveling in other cars.
Full List of Charges Against the 17-Year-Old
Beyond the armed burglary of conveyance and grand theft of a firearm counts, Kal also faces charges of armed burglary of a dwelling, carrying a concealed firearm, and possession of a firearm by a minor, according to the sheriff's office. He was additionally charged with loitering and prowling, trespassing on posted property, and violation of probation. That probation violation stemmed from a pick-up order tied to an earlier trespassing incident on school grounds.
Separately, the sheriff's office reported that 59-year-old Robin Robbins of Lakeland was arrested on Thursday, November 12. The posted account does not establish any connection between that arrest and the Poinciana window incident or the Highland City burglary case.
